He said every Nigerian should have the freedom to express themselves without being bullied by the state. Aspirant for the 2019 presidential election, Kingsley Moghalu, staged a one-man protest at the Owerri Prison in Imo State for the release of female protesters arrested by the police this week.The group of women numbering 112 were arrested by the Police on August 17, 2018 for conducting an “illegal assembly and holding an unlawful protest”. The women had protested topless to question the government over the disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who disppeared without a trace, alongside his parents, after an alleged invasion of soldiers on his father’s residence in September 2017. The women have been locked up since and their detention has created a storm with Nigerians calling the act undemocratic.Moghalu visited the Owerri prison on Friday, August 24, to demand for the release of the women. He disclosed this on his Twitter account (@MoghaluKingsley) where he argued that every Nigerian should have the freedom to express themselves.He posted, “I have just left Owerri prison where I demanded the release of the 112 women detained for several days. We must not become a country where impunity by the authorities is the response to peaceful dissent. Freedom of association and expression should apply to all Nigerians.”I support efforts being made by well-meaning Nigerians to secure the unconditional release of 112 women detained in Owerri prison for a peaceful demonstration. Their freedom of speech and assembly is guaranteed by the Constitution, and is non-negotiable.” Nigerians have right to peaceful protest – MoghaluAccording to a report by Vanguard, Moghalu was largely ignored by the Deputy Controller General of Nigeria Prisons in charge of Works and Logistics, Charles Ahaotu, when he staged his protest.Despite his best efforts to get the attention of the official, he reportedly said he was busy with official assignments.While addressing the media at the prison, Moghalu said Nigerians have the constitutional rights to express themselves without being subjected to abuse by the state as long as it is peaceful.He said, “I am shocked that this kind of thing is happening in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigerian citizens have a right to peaceful protest. Nigerian citizens are not prisoners. They should not be caged. People have a right to express themselves. You may or not agree with them as far as they are peaceful.”Why would any society throw over 112 women into prison for some days now. I think this is gross abuse of their fundamental rights and it is time we all as Nigerians rise up and take a stand. “Nigeria is not an animal farm in which some animals are more equal than the other. All the citizens of Nigeria, have the right to free expression. They have the right to freedom of movement, they have the right to freedom of Assembly. “They should not be treated as if they are sub-humans simply because we don’t like what they are saying or doing.”The women are currently facing charges bordering on treasonable felony and have been denied bail by a Magistrate Court.
